There has been a large effort to create unique materials having defined engineering properties for use in a wide variety of products. These materials are targeted at increasing certain functional characteristics, such as strength, or porosity, while minimizing cost and/or weight. Other desirable properties include durability, light transmissivity, corrosion resistance, and the like. Fundamental structures have been created that impart valuable properties to select products. For example, the "honeycomb" structure provides a high strength to weight ratio that has found broad application in demanding designs.
Another example is the porous minimal surface structures used as a bone substitute and other select medical applications. The present inventor is responsible for developing such a specialized material, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,348,788 and 5,455,100, the contents of which are incorporated by reference as if restated in full. These structures provide a highly innovative solution to the difficult process of emulating a mathematically periodic minimal surface to impart select functional characteristics to the product at issue.
These patents and the associated technology, however, are focused on medical applications which have a narrow field of use and a rigid requirement definition. In this context, applications of fundamental minimal surface constructs are far more extensive and include:
1. Heat exchangers, PA1 2. Catalytic converters, PA1 3. Kiln furniture, PA1 4. Photonic devices (including photonic band gap material), PA1 5. Composite smart materials, and PA1 6. High strength/weight materials.
Recognizing that this potential universe is largely unaddressed by current technology, the present inventions were developed to meet this need.